The Delhi High Court has directed the Central Government to consider the representation filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seeking temporary allocation of space for its office in Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg on account of being recognised as a national party.

While allowing the plea, the Single-Judge Bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad said, "I have held that they have no right to claim land before Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg. I have also held that they are entitled to a house by general pool. I have also held that mere pressure on non-availability is no reason to reject because pressure is always there and house have always been allotted to political parties."

"So, their representation for consideration in six weeks time by a reasoned order, if rejected, so they can take steps," the Bench ordered.

Pertinently, on May 27, the Court had reserved order in the plea. The Court had said it is likely to pass an order on the issue of temporary allotment of the space on June 5.

The AAP had also approached the Apex Court through Special Leave Petition (SLP), however, it was withdrawn on May 17, 2024, on the grounds that High Court was hearing the matter. The SLP was filed against the High Court's refusal of an early hearing of the case. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for the AAP.

The AAP had initiated legal action last year, seeking land in the national capital for constructing its offices or temporary housing until then. The High Court, while reserving judgment on temporary accommodation, had scheduled further proceedings on July 10 regarding land allotment.

Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra had argued that a national party is entitled to temporary office space until granted land for permanent construction. He had mentioned the willingness of an AAP minister to relinquish a Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Marg unit for the party's use temporarily.

The Central Government's Standing Counsel had countered, stating that land allotment is from the general pool and there's no exclusive provision for political parties. Referring to past offers, he had highlighted the infeasibility of the current allotment from the pool and the need to return the DDU Marg unit to the government.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had granted the AAP time until June 15 to vacate its Rouse Avenue office, which was allocated for expanding judicial infrastructure.

The AAP's petition challenged the rejection of their requests for land allotment by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, arguing that the denial impedes democratic functioning and undermines the party's opposition status. The plea urged the Union ministry to take lawful steps to allocate suitable land for constructing offices for its national and Delhi state units, emphasizing the need for a fair democratic process.

Cause Title: Aam Aadmi Party v. Union of India through its Secretary and Anr. [W.P.(C) 15929/2023 & CM APPLs. 10225/2024, 19624/2024 & 19666/2024]

Appearance:-

Petitioner: Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra, Advocates Abdul Rahman, Mani Gupta, Sreekar, Adnan, Rishikesh Kumar, Prateek Chadha, Sonali Jain,

Respondent: Advocates Kirtiman Singh (CGSC), Waize Ali Noor, Varun Rajawat, Varun P. Singh, Aryan Agrawal, Kartik Baijal, Shreya V. Mehra, Vidhi Jain

Justice Subramonium PrasadDelhi High Court

Sukriti Mishra